How the New York City skyline has changed

In the 14 years since September 11, 2001, the world has changed in more ways than one can count. The United States has become less dependant on foreign oil, security in airports around the globe have transitioned from simple metal detectors to invasive x-ray scanners and pat downs, and government surveillance budgets have skyrocketed. But the most obvious change is the New York City skyline.

Aerial view of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center during its construction in lower Manhattan, New York City, 1971. (Photo by Carsten/Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The recently completed World Trade Center twin towers with Staten Island in the background, New York, New York, August 5, 1972. (Photo by Gene Kappock/Underwood Archives/Getty Images)

Lower Manhattan in New York City, USA, with the twin towers of the World Trade Center on the left, circa 1975. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

A picture taken 20 May 1986 in New York shows the Statue of Liberty and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the background. The Twin Towers collapsed 11 September 2001 after being damaged by two hijacked planes. AFP PHOTO MARIO SURIANI (Photo credit should read MARIO SURIANI/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 1: Francesco Scavullo, director for The Crystal Gayle Special, frames a shot in New York harbor. The World Trade Center towers (twin towers) are in the background. Image dated September 1, 1979. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)

The Merit Cup representing Switzerland in the Maxi Yacht regatta tacks into the wind 02 July 1992 with the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the background. The Merit Cup beat out the Italian entry Safilo in the race at New York harbor. (Photo credit should read HAI DO/AFP/Getty Images)

From the cockpit of a 747 jumbo jet flying at 1500Âft, the twin World Trade Center towers loom distinctly on the Manhattan skyline. The Nov. 1994 view illustrates how clearly the landmark targets could have been to terrorist hijacker Mohamad Atta. (Photo by Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 17: The twin towers of the World Trade Center and surrounding buildings are etched against the New York skyline at night. (Photo by Pat Carroll/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

UNITED STATES - MARCH 30: Residents are out for a stroll on a warm spring day along the Esplanade in Brooklyn. That's the Brooklyn Bridge and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the background., (Photo by Evy Mages/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

The twin towers of the World Trade Center rise behind a flower bed in New York City's Battery Park August 12, 1999. (Photo by Brian Cleary)

UNITED STATES - DECEMBER 22: Airview of New York Harbor with the Statue of Liberty at left and the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the background at right. (Photo by Susan Watts/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 06: The twin towers of the World Trade Center loom over sculpture by Japanese artist Masayuki Nagare, at the Church St. entrance of the World Trade Center Plaza. (Photo by Misha Erwitt/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

372154 07: (FILE PHOTO) A ship passes in front of the World Trade Center during Operation Sail 2000 July 4, 2000 in New York City. The buildings where destroyed September 11, 2001 when two planes crashed into the Twin Towers. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

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For 28 years, the Twin Towers were the largest buildings in New York and the bookend to Downtown Manhattan. After the attacks on 9/11, the gaping hole in the skyline became the literal representation of the emptiness people all over the country were feeling. As New York started to heal, the skyline started to grow. Today Manhattan is bigger than ever before.

Click to see the skyline after 9/11:

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9/11/2001: World Trade Center Freedom Tower

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How the New York City skyline has changed

Sunrise on One World Trade Center, Freedom Tower, New York City skyline, New York City, New York. (Photo By: Visions of America/UIG via Getty Images)

Panoramic view of New York City Skyline on water featuring One World Trade Center, Freedom Tower, New York City, New York. (Photo By: Visions of America/UIG via Getty Images)

[UNVERIFIED CONTENT] freedom tower world trade center

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 06: A general view of the lower Manhattan skyline with the construction of the Freedom Tower at One World Trade Center on December 6, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Ben Hider/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 11: Parts of the spire for the Freedom Tower make their way on a barge from Port Newark to lower Manhattan where they will be unloaded and installed on top of the Freedom Tower starting tomorrow on December 11, 2012 in New York City. The barge is carrying nine pieces of steel that will eventually top off One World Trade Center at a symbolic 1,776 feet, becoming the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. (Photo by Chris Pedota-Pool/Getty Images)

A street level view of the One World Trade Center tower in New York, November 3, 2014. The 104-story skyscraper built after 9/11 as the Freedom Tower but now simply called One World Trade Center welcomed publishing giant Conde Nast as its first tenant on Monday. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES - Tags: CITYSCAPE DISASTER REAL ESTATE BUSINESS)

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 17: One World Trade Center or the 'Freedom Tower' towers over lower Manhattan on August 17, 2016 in New York City. Lower Manhattan, previously dominated by the financial industry, has become one of Manhattan's top tourist destinations with memorials to the victims, shopping malls and historical landmarks. Fifteen years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the area around Ground Zero has gone through significant changes but still carries reminders of that day when over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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The two World Trade Center buildings were replaced by several buildings -- the biggest being One World Trade. The building, nicknamed "The Freedom Tower," stands fifty feet higher than the previous World Trade Center -- making its official height 1,776 feet tall. It's the tallest building in the United States, and the fourth tallest in the world.

One World Trade is not the only skyscraper to be built after 9/11. In the past 14 years New York has seen more than a dozen massive buildings pop up in the city's skyline.

The building at 432 Park Avenue, estimated to be completed sometime this year, is now the second tallest building in the Big Apple and the tallest residential building in the world. The Bank of America Tower was completed in 2009, and is the fourth tallest building in New York after the Empire State Building.

In fact, 30 of the top 100 tallest skyscrapers in New York were all built in the years since 2001. So the world may have been dramatically altered in the wake of the attacks on Sept. 11, but while we'll never be able to truly fill the void that was created, if you ever need proof that the city bounced back -- just look at the skyline.